Lessons from Notre Dame on Marketing

I should begin with a disclaimer.  I have two degrees from Notre Dame. Three of my children have attended there, as well as my son in law and daughter in law. Suffice it to say I am a fan.

Even so, I believe Notre Dame's "What would you fight for?" videos are exceptional advertisements and among the best of any university in the country.  Here are a couple in the series that have been airing on NBC during home football games these last few years: 

 

Each of these commercials  follows the same script (you can find the whole series here): A problem is identified, often with a global theme. Then, a Notre Dame student or professor is featured who is working on the problem in some sort of significant, poignant way. And then the wrap up question: "Notre Dame asks: What would YOU fight for?" Fighting to build bridges (or for clean water, against tuberculosis, etc.)" says a student or professor. "We are... the fighting Irish!"

What is compelling about these commercials? Aside from their high production value, I believe the answer is simple. If you look at how most universities market themselves, they point all the arrows inward toward themselves: "Look how many national merit finalists we have."  "Look at this innovative program we offer." "Look at how much fun our kids have. " " Look at our beautiful campus."  "Look at the success of our athletic programs. " "Look at us!"

Yawn.

By contrast, the Notre Dame commercials consistently point the arrow outward. They focus on a problem outside of the university, but then feature how Notre Dame is working to solve this problem for others. The focus is not on how great the university's programs are, but on how the university "commissions" its students and faculty to make a positive difference in this world.

I believe this altruistic, outward emphasis resonates more deeply with the viewer, first of all because it taps into a general desire in all of us to do noble things with our lives.  We are at our best when we serve others and happiest when we do so. 

Second, by focusing on the mission of the university rather than its assets, the commercials avoid the self-serving "feel" of a commercial and instead issue a challenge to the viewer to do something great with their lives: What would YOU fight for? How does YOUR life matter? What can YOU be doing to make a difference in other person's lives? "Come to a university so that your life will matter for others" is the compelling message.

I think there's a lesson for us who work in Catholic schools. If we try to go toe to toe with our private school competitors by focusing on the school's assets (our accomplishments, our academic programs, our facilities, our various extra-curricular offerings) -- if the arrows are pointing inward-- we are not likely playing to our strengths, especially if other schools are wealthier and charge much more for tuition. But even if we are among the fortunate few Catholic schools that CAN compete on that level, it's not a terribly compelling story that draws others in. Everybody's saying the same thing: Insert school, insert program features, insert invitation to join the "club" and have these things, too.

But if our focus is outward, if we focus on our mission and the difference our students are making in the lives of others, we can tell a powerful story that attracts others to join us. Thinking along these lines, we've adopted the tagline "Faith leads us beyond ourselves," a quote from our namesake, JPII, speaking from Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD on one of his visits to the United States. That motto has helped us stay mission focused in how we talk about ourselves to others.

This last Saturday, one of our Houses, the House of Pius, hosted a 5K run that drew over 270 people and raised over $5000. The proceeds will be given to the Jason Foundation, which works with teenagers for the purpose of suicide prevention. We're working on a story that features pictures of the event and includes interviews with participants, faculty sponsors and representatives of the Jason Foundation about the good work they do.

Not only are these stories more compelling, they remind us in Catholic schools of what we're all about.